Over a six-month period, citizen science volunteers will monitor
eight different species of frogs, toads, and salamanders in wetlands throughout
western Washington, which may include Mercer Slough Nature Park, parks in
Seattle and King County and, potentially, Snohomish County Public Works sites.

Volunteers are required to participate in a classroom and
field training session on February 10 or February 17. Teens between ages 14 and
18 are welcome and encouraged to join a monitoring team with at least one other
teen participant. Sign up for a training session at www.zoo.org/amphibianmonitoring.

We will team up with Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife to conduct the field training. Participants are equipped with hip waders,
GPS units, aquascopes, and other monitoring tools as they learn how to identify
and document egg masses of different amphibian species in a way that’s safe for
people, wildlife and habitats. Once trained, volunteers will form teams and
choose a wetland or pond to monitor on a monthly basis—recording data and
taking photos of any amphibians they encounter.

An Amphibian Monitoring volunteer surveys Magnuson Park for
egg masses with her team, which is comprised of ZooCorpsteen volunteers. Photo by Lyra
Dalton, WPZ staff

The Citizen Science Amphibian Monitoring program is offered
through Woodland Park Zoo’s Living Northwest program, in partnership with
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife. Launched in 2012, the program provides
much-needed data on amphibian populations for Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife. The volunteer scientists gain knowledge of and appreciation for
amphibians and their wetland habitats, and the skills to do relevant, hands-on
scientific data collection.

The ancient class of amphibians includes salamanders, newts,
an obscure group of legless creatures known as caecilians and, of course, the
icons, frogs and toads.